Is selling my car to a 'we buy any car' type company worth it?

asheranti

I'm looking to sell my 10 year old ford ka which has low mileage but has rust damage. I'm not buying a new car as I can now use my company car for personal use, so part exchange isn't an option. I was going to sell it privately but then a friend said her husband used a company called 'We Buy Any Motors' and got a good price for his car. I've also had an online quote for £550 from 'We Want Your Wheels' but I was hoping for more like £800+. 'We Buy Any Car' only offered me £70 as an online quote. Does anyone else have any experience of these companies? Is it worth it or would I still be better selling privately?

mcjordi

WBAC dont want it.. hence the low offer.. bare in mind you could scrap it for 110 atm easy so wbac are coming in lower than scrap

selling private would be a lot better.. KA's are not bad first cars or as a 2nd motor..

benham3160

£70 less the £49.99 admin fee don't forget.

By the time they've found some problems with it (very easy on a Ka) and knocked another few quid off.

Don't touch them, just sell it privately.

Regards,
Andy

Keith

10 year old Ka with "rust" damage. Stick it on Ebay and see what it goes for. £800 sounds a lot but if the rest of it is in order, rear subframe, wishbones, valve clearances, top mounts (front and rear) then it's possible.

tupac662

Don't do it.
A friend of mine was offered £900 for a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and he accepted as he was desperate for cash.
Similar cars on ebay going for £2500 plus.

Stick it on a no reserve auction starting at £650 and it will definately sell for anything between £800-£1k.

All the best

Ian_W

According to PARKERS a W Reg KA is worth about £615 (good) to £365 (poor) for a private sale on the base model with the higher spec ones perhaps a £100 or so more.

I've also had an online quote for £550 from 'We Want Your Wheels' but I was hoping for more like £800+.

Sounds a tad optimistic given that's what Parkers suggest you can buy one for that an independent dealer. You're going to get the best price selling private, ANY dealer needs to have a mark-up on what they pay you to cover any prep or bodging-up they need to do + their profit.
Doubt this firm will actually pay £550, they'll probably waft £3-400 under your nose hoping you're desperate or don't want the hassle of a private sale.

property.advert

Stick it up for £600 or so and accept £500. If full test and rust is not a major issue and if you have FSH, then go for more, perhaps £795 aiming for about £700.

asheranti

Thanks for all the comments above, useful to have some opinions! I've never done a private sale before as this was my first car. Anyone have any tips? Where to advertise, how to deal with people coming round to look at it etc.

A point to note is that mot and tax will run out in the next couple of months, and it hasn't been serviced for a couple of years as I couldn't afford it last year. I know that this will add value to the car if I do it, but once I've paid for all the work will it add enough value for it to be worth it? I already know that while it has been stood for a month or so it needs some work to make it fully mechanically sound (it has developed a knocking sound from one of the wheels) so all in all I reckon it could cost £300 to £500 to bring it up to scratch.

LandyAndy

So it's unserviced, rusty, some obvious faults, no MoT to speak of and you think it's worth £800?

I'd be surprised if you got more than £300.

asheranti

The time when I thought it was more likely to be 800+ was earlier in the year when I was driving it full time and it was in good condition. These problems have mainly come about since it's been stood so what I'm wondering is if I get some more work done on it to bring it back up to scratch then is that likely to be worth it in terms of boosting the value enough for me to sell it privately.

AlexisV

You could have some problems if you sell it privately and it conks out when it's down the road. Also not good from a moral perspective.

I'd take it to a garage and just ask about the knocking suspension. It might just be a wheel bearing or a bush. When you know the price to fix that, add a couple of hundred for the service. If you then polish it up and try and sell for £700, you might make £400 on it after doing it up.

Much better than selling it for £300 and then getting a knock on your door from a buyer and his two burly mates.